Editing Muammar Gaddafi (section)

===Consolidating leadership: 1969–1973===
The 12-member central committee of the Free Officers proclaimed themselves the [[Libyan Revolutionary Command Council|Revolutionary Command Council]] (RCC), the government of the new republic.{{sfnm|1a1=Blundy|1a2=Lycett|1y=1987|1p=63|2a1=Vandewalle|2y=2008b|2p=9|3a1=St. John|3y=2012|3p=134}} Lieutenant Gaddafi became RCC chairman, and therefore the ''de facto'' head of state, also appointing himself to the rank of [[colonel]] and becoming commander-in-chief of the armed forces.{{sfnm|1a1=Harris|1y=1986|1p=15|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2p=64|3a1=St. John|3y=2012|3p=134}} Jalloud became Prime Minister,{{sfn|Blundy|Lycett|1987|pp=91–92}} while a civilian Council of Ministers headed by Sulaiman Maghribi was founded to implement RCC policy.{{sfnm|1a1=Harris|1y=1986|1p=17|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2p=63}} Libya's administrative capital was moved from [[Bayda, Libya|al-Beida]] to Tripoli.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=71}}

[[File:Flag of Libya (1969–1972).svg|thumb|left|The flag of republican Libya used by Gaddafi's government from 1969 to 1972]]

Although theoretically a collegial body operating through consensus building, Gaddafi dominated the RCC.{{sfn|St. John|2012|p=134}} Some of the others attempted to constrain what they saw as his excesses.{{sfn|Kawczynski|2011|p=20}} Gaddafi remained the government's public face, with the identities of the other RCC members only being publicly revealed on 10 January 1970.{{sfnm|1a1=Vandewalle|1y=2006|1p=79|2a1=Vandewalle|2y=2008b|2p=9|3a1=St. John|3y=2012|3p=134}} All young men from (typically rural) working and middle-class backgrounds, none had university degrees; in this way they were distinct from the wealthy, highly educated conservatives who previously governed the country.{{sfnm|1a1=Harris|1y=1986|1p=38|2a1=Vandewalle|2y=2006|2p=79|3a1=Vandewalle|3y=2008b|3p=10|4a1=Kawczynski|4y=2011|4p=20}}

The coup completed, the RCC proceeded with their intentions of consolidating the revolutionary government and modernizing the country.{{sfn|St. John|2012|p=134}} They purged monarchists and members of Idris' [[Senussi]] clan from Libya's political world and armed forces; Gaddafi believed this elite were opposed to the will of the Libyan people and had to be expunged.{{sfnm|1a1=Vandewalle|1y=2008b|1p=11|2a1=Kawczynski|2y=2011|2pp=21–23}} [[Libyan People's Court|People's Courts]] were founded to try various monarchist politicians and journalists, many of whom were imprisoned, although none executed. Idris was sentenced to execution ''[[Trial in absentia|in absentia]]''.{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1p=71|2a1=Harris|2y=1986|2p=16|3a1=Blundy|3a2=Lycett|3y=1987|3p=62}} Three months after Gaddafi came to power, the army minister and interior minister, both of whom were from the eastern [[Barqa]] region, tried to overthrow him in a failed [[1969 Libyan coup attempt|coup]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Reuters Archive Licensing |url=https://reuters.screenocean.com/record/194993 |access-date=10 February 2023 |website=Reuters Archive Licensing |language=en |archive-date=19 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210719153903/https://reuters.screenocean.com/record/194993 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1970, Idris' great nephew [[Ahmed al-Senussi]] tried to instigate another coup against Gaddafi; the [[Black Prince conspiracy|monarchist plot]] was foiled in August and Ahmed was sentenced to death (commuted in 1988 and pardoned by Gaddafi in 2001).<ref>{{Cite news |last=Stock |first=Jonathan |date=13 March 2011 |title=Gaddafi-Opfer Al-Senussi: "Gott entscheidet, was mit dir passiert" |language=de |work=Der Spiegel |url=https://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/gaddafi-opfer-al-senussi-gott-entscheidet-was-mit-dir-passiert-a-750656.html |access-date=10 February 2023 |issn=2195-1349 |archive-date=31 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110831122008/http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/0,1518,750656,00.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=23 March 2012 |title=Arm us to save us: Libyan ex-prisoner appeals - Univision Wires |url=http://wires.univision.com/english/article/2011-03-13/arm-us-to-save-us |access-date=10 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323161343/http://wires.univision.com/english/article/2011-03-13/arm-us-to-save-us |archive-date=23 March 2012 }}</ref>

In May 1970, the Revolutionary Intellectuals Seminar was held to bring intellectuals in line with the revolution,{{sfn|Harris|1986|p=17}} while that year's Legislative Review and Amendment united secular and religious law codes, introducing ''[[sharia]]'' into the legal system.{{sfn|Harris|1986|p=16}} [[Rule by decree|Ruling by decree]], the RCC maintained the monarchy's ban on political parties, in May 1970 banned trade unions, and in 1972 outlawed workers' strikes and suspended newspapers.{{sfnm|1a1=Harris|1y=1986|1p=17|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2pp=63–64|3a1=Vandewalle|3y=2008b|3p=11|4a1=St. John|4y=2012|4p=153}} In September 1971, Gaddafi resigned, claiming to be dissatisfied with the pace of reform, but returned to his position within a month.{{sfn|Blundy|Lycett|1987|pp=91–92}} In July 1972, amid widespread speculation that Gaddafi had been ousted or jailed by his political opponents, a new 18-man cabinet was formed with only two of them, Jalloud and [[Abdel Moneim al-Houni]], being military men; the rest were civilian [[Technocracy|technocrats]] per Gaddafi's insistence.<ref>{{Cite news |date=17 July 1972 |title=COUNCIL IN LIBYA FORMS A CABINET |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/07/17/archives/council-in-libya-forms-a-cabinet-qaddafi-not-member-but-he-is.html |access-date=5 March 2023 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=12 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230212224158/https://www.nytimes.com/1972/07/17/archives/council-in-libya-forms-a-cabinet-qaddafi-not-member-but-he-is.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=18 July 1972 |title=New Cabinet Meets |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/07/18/archives/new-cabinet-meets.html |access-date=5 March 2023 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=6 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230306053807/https://www.nytimes.com/1972/07/18/archives/new-cabinet-meets.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In February 1973, Gaddafi resigned again, once more returning the following month.{{sfn|Blundy|Lycett|1987|p=85}}

====Economic and social reform====

[[File:Nasser Qaddafi Atassi 1969.jpg|thumb|Gaddafi at an Arab summit in Libya in 1969, shortly after the September Revolution that toppled [[Idris of Libya|King Idris I]]. Gaddafi sits in military uniform in the middle, surrounded by Egyptian President [[Gamal Abdel Nasser]] (left) and Syrian President [[Nureddin al-Atassi]] (right).]]

The RCC's early economic policy has been characterized as being [[state capitalism|state capitalist]] in orientation.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=124}} Many initiatives were established to aid entrepreneurs and develop a Libyan bourgeoisie.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=123}} Seeking to expand the cultivatable acreage in Libya, in September 1969 the government launched a "Green Revolution" to increase agricultural productivity so that Libya could rely less on imported food.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=128}} The hope was to make Libya self-sufficient in food production.{{sfn|El-Khawas|1984|p=34}} All land that had either been expropriated from Italian settlers or which was not in use was repossessed and redistributed.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=129}} Irrigation systems were established along the northern coastline and around various inland oases.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|pp=130–132}} Production costs often surpassed the value of the produce and thus Libyan agricultural production remained in deficit, relying heavily on state subsidies.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=132}}

With [[crude oil]] as the country's primary export, Gaddafi sought to improve Libya's oil sector.{{sfnm|1a1=Blundy|1a2=Lycett|1y=1987|1pp=66–67|2a1=St. John|2y=2012|2pp=145–146}} In October 1969, he proclaimed the current trade terms unfair, benefiting foreign corporations more than the Libyan state, and threatened to decrease production. In December Jalloud successfully increased the price of Libyan oil.{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1pp=80–88|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2pp=66–67|3a1=St. John|3y=2012|3pp=145–146}} In 1970, other [[OPEC]] states followed suit, leading to a global increase in the price of crude oil.{{sfnm|1a1=Blundy|1a2=Lycett|1y=1987|1pp=66–67|2a1=St. John|2y=2012|2pp=145–146}} The RCC followed with the Tripoli Agreement of 20 March 1971, in which they secured income tax, back-payments and better pricing from the oil corporations; these measures brought Libya an estimated $1&nbsp;billion in additional revenues in its first year.{{sfnm|1a1=Vandewalle|1y=2008b|1p=15|2a1=St. John|2y=2012|2p=147}}

Increasing state control over the oil sector, the RCC began a program of [[nationalization]], starting with the expropriation of [[BP|British Petroleum]]'s share of the British Petroleum-N.B. Hunt Sahir Field in December 1971.{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1p=90|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2p=68|3a1=St. John|3y=2012|3p=147}} In September 1973, it was announced that all foreign oil producers active in Libya were to see 51 per cent of their operation nationalized, including the stake of [[Nelson Bunker Hunt]], son of [[H.L. Hunt]], who had played a key role in the discovery of oil in Libya.<ref name="Libya">{{Cite book| last = Greenwood| first = C. J.| title = International Law Reports| publisher = Cambridge University Press| year = 1984| volume = 66| page = 340| isbn = 0-521-46411-0}}</ref> Among the companies that were partially nationalized was [[Armand Hammer]]'s [[Occidental Petroleum]].<ref>{{Cite news|date=29 November 1981|title=The Riddle of Armand Hammer|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/11/29/magazine/the-riddle-of-armand-hammer.html|access-date=3 February 2022|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=17 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211217222637/https://www.nytimes.com/1981/11/29/magazine/the-riddle-of-armand-hammer.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=8 February 1974|title=Occidental-Libya Exploration Pact Set|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1974/02/08/archives/occidentallibya-exploration-pact-set.html|access-date=3 February 2022|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=11 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221011054821/https://www.nytimes.com/1974/02/08/archives/occidentallibya-exploration-pact-set.html|url-status=live}}</ref> For Gaddafi, this was an essential step towards socialism.{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1p=91|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2p=68|3a1=St. John|3y=1987|3p=116|4a1=St. John|4y=2012|4p=147}} It proved an economic success; while gross domestic product had been $3.8&nbsp;billion in 1969, it had risen to $13.7&nbsp;billion in 1974, and $24.5&nbsp;billion in 1979.{{sfn|Blundy|Lycett|1987|p=107}} In turn, the Libyans' standard of life greatly improved over the first decade of Gaddafi's administration, and by 1979 the average per-capita income was at $8,170, up from $40 in 1951; this was above the average of many industrialized countries like Italy and the UK.{{sfn|Blundy|Lycett|1987|p=107}} In 1969, the government also declared that all foreign owned banks must either close down or convert to joint-stock operations.{{sfn|El-Khawas|1984|p=28}}

[[File:Sadat Qaddafi Assad 1971.jpg|thumb|left|In 1971, Egypt's [[Anwar Sadat]], Libya's Gaddafi and Syria's [[Hafez al-Assad]] signed an agreement [[Federation of Arab Republics|to form a federal Union of Arab Republics]]. The agreement never materialized into a federal union between the three Arab states.]]

The RCC implemented measures for social reform, adopting ''sharia'' as a basis.{{sfnm|1a1=Blundy|1a2=Lycett|1y=1987|1p=64|2a1=Vandewalle|2y=2008b|2p=31|3a1=Kawczynski|3y=2011|3p=21|4a1=St. John|4y=2012|4p=134}} The consumption of alcohol was prohibited, night clubs and [[Christianity in Libya|Christian churches]] were shut down, traditional Libyan dress was encouraged, and Arabic was decreed as the only language permitted in official communications and on road signs.{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1p=72|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2p=64|3a1=Vandewalle|3y=2008b|3p=31|4a1=Kawczynski|4y=2011|4p=21|5a1=St. John|5y=2012|5p=134}} The RCC doubled the [[minimum wage]], introduced statutory price controls, and implemented compulsory rent reductions of between 30 and 40 per cent.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=73}} Gaddafi also wanted to combat the strict social restrictions that had been imposed on women by the previous regime, establishing the [[Revolutionary Women's Formation]] to encourage reform.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=196}} In 1970, a law was introduced affirming equality of the sexes and insisting on wage parity.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=198}} In 1971, Gaddafi sponsored the creation of a Libyan General Women's Federation.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=197}} In 1972, a law was passed criminalizing the marriage of any females under the age of sixteen and ensuring that a woman's consent was a necessary prerequisite for a marriage.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=198}} Gaddafi's regime opened up a wide range of educational and employment opportunities for women, although these primarily benefited a minority in the urban middle-classes.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=198}}

From 1969 to 1973, it used oil money to fund social welfare programs, which led to housebuilding projects and improved healthcare and education.{{sfnm|1a1=Kawczynski|1y=2011|1p=23|2a1=St. John|2y=2012|2p=149}} House building became a major social priority, designed to eliminate homelessness and to replace the [[shanty town]]s created by Libya's growing urbanization.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=73}} The health sector was also expanded; by 1978, Libya had 50 per cent more hospitals than it had in 1968, while the number of doctors had increased from 700 to over 3000 in that decade.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=74}} [[Malaria]] was eradicated, and [[trachoma]] and [[tuberculosis]] greatly curtailed.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=74}} Compulsory education was expanded from 6 to 9 years, while adult literacy programs and free university education were introduced.{{sfn|Harris|1986|p=38}} [[Bayda, Libya#Education|Beida University]] was founded, while [[Tripoli University]] and [[Benghazi University]] were expanded.{{sfn|Harris|1986|p=38}} In doing so, the government helped to integrate the poorer strata of Libyan society into the education system.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|pp=74–75}} Through these measures, the RCC greatly expanded the [[public sector]], providing employment for thousands.{{sfnm|1a1=Kawczynski|1y=2011|1p=23|2a1=St. John|2y=2012|2p=149}} These early social programs proved popular within Libya.{{sfnm|1a1=Harris|1y=1986|1p=19|2a1=Kawczynski|2y=2011|2p=22|3a1=St. John|3y=2012|3p=149}} This popularity was partly due to Gaddafi's personal charisma, youth and underdog status as a Bedouin, as well as his rhetoric emphasizing his role as the successor to the anti-Italian fighter [[Omar Mukhtar]].{{sfnm|1a1=Vandewalle|1y=2008b|1pp=31–32|2a1=Kawczynski|2y=2011|2p=22}}

To combat the country's strong regional and tribal divisions, the RCC promoted the idea of a unified pan-Libyan identity.{{sfn|St. John|2012|p=154}} In doing so, they tried discrediting tribal leaders as agents of the old regime, and in August 1971 a Sabha military court tried many of them for counter-revolutionary activity.{{sfn|St. John|2012|p=154}} Long-standing administrative boundaries were re-drawn, crossing tribal boundaries, while pro-revolutionary modernizers replaced traditional leaders, yet the communities they served often rejected them.{{sfn|St. John|2012|pp=154–155}} Realizing the failures of the modernizers, Gaddafi created the [[Arab Socialist Union (Libya)|Arab Socialist Union]] (ASU) in June 1971, a mass mobilization [[vanguard party]] of which he was president.{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1pp=136–137|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2p=91|3a1=Vandewalle|3y=2006|3p=83|4a1=Vandewalle|4y=2008b|4p=11|5a1=St. John|5y=2012|5p=155}} The ASU recognized the RCC as its "Supreme Leading Authority", and was designed to further revolutionary enthusiasm throughout the country.{{sfnm|1a1=Blundy|1a2=Lycett|1y=1987|1p=91|2a1=Vandewalle|2y=2008b|2p=11|3a1=St. John|3y=2012|3p=155}} It remained heavily bureaucratic and failed to mobilize mass support in the way Gaddafi had envisioned.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=138}}

====Foreign relations====
{{Further|Foreign relations of Libya under Muammar Gaddafi}}

[[File:Nasser Gaddafi 1969.jpg|thumb|upright|Gaddafi (left) with Egyptian President Nasser in 1969. Nasser privately described Gaddafi as "a nice boy, but terribly naïve".{{sfn|Blundy|Lycett|1987|p=18}}]]
The influence of Nasser's Arab nationalism over the RCC was immediately apparent.{{sfnm|1a1=Vandewalle|1y=2006|1pp=79–80|2a1=Vandewalle|2y=2008b|2p=9|3a1=St. John|3y=2012|3p=137}} The administration was instantly [[Diplomatic recognition|recognized]] by the neighbouring Arab nationalist regimes in Egypt, Syria, Iraq, and Sudan,{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1p=55|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2p=60|3a1=Kawczynski|3y=2011|3p=18}} with Egypt sending experts to aid the inexperienced RCC.{{sfnm|1a1=Blundy|1a2=Lycett|1y=1987|1pp=62–63|2a1=Kawczynski|2y=2011|2p=18}} Gaddafi propounded [[pan-Arab]] ideas, proclaiming the need for a single Arab state stretching across North Africa and the Middle East.{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1p=96|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2p=75|3a1=Kawczynski|3y=2011|3p=65|4a1=St. John|4y=2012|4p=186}} In December 1969, Libya signed the Tripoli Charter alongside Egypt and Sudan. This established the Arab Revolutionary Front, a pan-national union designed as a first step towards the eventual political unification of the three nations.{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1p=64|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2p=75|3a1=Kawczynski|3y=2011|3p=65|4a1=St. John|4y=2012|4p=186}} In 1970 Syria declared its intention to join.{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1p=96}}

Nasser died unexpectedly in September 1970, with Gaddafi playing a prominent role at his funeral.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=66}} Nasser was succeeded by [[Anwar Sadat]], who suggested that rather than creating a unified state, the Arab states should create [[Federation of Arab Republics|a political federation]], implemented in April 1971; in doing so, Egypt, Syria, and Sudan received large grants of Libyan oil money.{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1p=97|2a1=Harris|2y=1986|2p=87|3a1=Kawczynski|3y=2011|3p=65|4a1=St. John|4y=2012|4pp=151–152}} In July 1971, Gaddafi sided with Sadat against the Soviet Union in the [[1971 Sudanese coup d'état]] and dispatched Libyan fighter jets to force down a [[British Overseas Airways Corporation|British Airlines]] jetliner carrying the leading coup plotters, [[Farouk Osman Hamadallah]] and Babikir al-Nour. They were extradited back to [[Khartoum]], where they were promptly executed by Sudanese leader [[Jaafar Nimeiry]].<ref name="Korn 88">{{cite book |last=Korn |first=David A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NDcwB0LusBEC&q=Hashem+al-Atta&pg=PA87 |title=Assassination in Khartoum |publisher=Indiana University Press |year=1993 |isbn=0253332028 |page=88 |access-date=5 March 2023 |archive-date=7 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230307180303/https://books.google.com/books?id=NDcwB0LusBEC&q=Hashem+al-Atta&pg=PA87 |url-status=live }}</ref> In February 1972, Gaddafi and Sadat signed an unofficial charter of merger, but it was never implemented because relations broke down the following year. Sadat became increasingly wary of Libya's radical direction, and the September 1973 deadline for implementing the Federation passed by with no action taken.{{sfnm|1a1=Kawczynski|1y=2011|1p=66|2a1=St. John|2y=2012|2p=182}}

After the 1969 coup, representatives of the [[Allied Control Council|Four Powers]]—France, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the [[Soviet Union]]—were called to meet RCC representatives.{{sfn|St. John|2012|p=140}} The UK and the US quickly extended diplomatic recognition, hoping to secure the position of their military bases in Libya and fearing further instability. Hoping to ingratiate themselves with Gaddafi, in 1970 the US informed him of at least one planned counter-coup.{{sfnm|1a1=Blundy|1a2=Lycett|1y=1987|1p=65|2a1=Kawczynski|2y=2011|2p=18|3a1=St. John|3y=2012|3pp=140–141}} Such attempts to form a working relationship with the RCC failed; Gaddafi was determined to reassert national sovereignty and expunge what he described as foreign colonial and imperialist influences. His administration insisted that the US and the UK remove their military bases from Libya, with Gaddafi proclaiming that "the armed forces which rose to express the people's revolution [will not] tolerate living in their shacks while the bases of imperialism exist in Libyan territory." The British left in March and the Americans in June 1970.{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1pp=76–77|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2p=61|3a1=Kawczynski|3y=2011|3p=19|4a1=St. John|4y=2012|4pp=141–143}}

Moving to reduce Italian influence, in October 1970 all Italian-owned assets were expropriated, and the 12,000-strong [[Italian settlers in Libya|Italian community]] was expelled from Libya alongside the smaller community of [[History of the Jews in Libya|Libyan Jews]]. The day became a [[Public holiday|national holiday]] known as "Vengeance Day".{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1p=72|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2p=64|3a1=Kawczynski|3y=2011|3pp=21–22|4a1=St. John|4y=2012|4p=142}} Italy complained that this was in contravention of the 1956 Italo-Libyan Treaty, although no UN sanctions were forthcoming.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=72}} Aiming to reduce [[NATO]] power in the Mediterranean, in 1971 Libya requested that [[Malta]] cease allowing NATO to use its land for a military base, in turn offering Malta foreign aid. Compromising, Malta's government continued allowing NATO to use the island, but only on the condition that NATO would not use it for launching attacks on Arab territory.{{sfnm|1a1=St. John|1y=1983|1p=475|2a1=St. John|2y=1987|2pp=87–88|3a1=St. John|3y=2012|3pp=150–151}} Over the coming decade, Gaddafi's government developed stronger political and economic links with [[Dom Mintoff]]'s Maltese administration, and under Libya's urging Malta did not renew the UK's airbases on the island in 1980.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=117}} Orchestrating a military build-up, the RCC began purchasing weapons from France and the Soviet Union.{{sfnm|1a1=St. John|1y=1987|1pp=74–75|2a1=St. John|2y=2012|2pp=144–145}} The commercial relationship with the latter led to an increasingly strained relationship with the US, which was then engaged in the [[Cold War]] with the Soviets.{{sfn|St. John|2012|pp=144–145}}

[[File:Oil Rich Libya.ogv|thumb|left|A 1973 anti-Gaddafist British [[newsreel]] including an interview with Gaddafi about his support for foreign militants]]

Gaddafi was especially critical of the US due to its support of Israel and sided with the [[Palestinians]] in the [[Israeli–Palestinian conflict]], viewing the 1948 creation of the State of Israel as a Western colonial occupation forced upon the [[Arab world]].{{sfnm|1a1=Blundy|1a2=Lycett|1y=1987|1pp=70–71|2a1=Vandewalle|2y=2008b|2p=34|3a1=Kawczynski|3y=2011|3p=64|4a1=St. John|4y=2012|4pp=150–152}} He believed that Palestinian violence against Israeli and Western targets was the justified response of an oppressed people who were fighting against the colonization of their homeland.{{sfn|Bearman|1986|p=114}} Calling on the Arab states to wage "continuous war" against Israel, in 1970 he initiated a Jihad Fund to finance anti-Israeli militants.{{sfnm|1a1=St. John|1y=1983|1p=478|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2p=71|3a1=St. John|3y=1987|3p=36|4a1=St. John|4y=2012|4p=185}} In June 1972 Gaddafi created the First Nasserite Volunteers Centre to train anti-Israeli guerrillas.{{sfnm|1a1=Kawczynski|1y=2011|1p=37|2a1=St. John|2y=2012|2p=151}}

Like Nasser, Gaddafi favoured the Palestinian leader [[Yasser Arafat]] and his group, [[Fatah]], over more militant and [[Marxism|Marxist]] Palestinian groups.{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1pp=64–65|2a1=St. John|2y=1987|2p=37}} As the years progressed however, Gaddafi's relationship with Arafat became strained, with Gaddafi considering him too moderate and calling for more violent action.{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1p=116|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2pp=69–70|3a1=Kawczynski|3y=2011|3p=37|4a1=St. John|4y=2012|4p=178}} Instead, he supported militias like the [[Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine]], [[Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command]], the [[Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine]], [[As-Sa'iqa]], the [[Palestinian Popular Struggle Front]], and the [[Abu Nidal Organization]].{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1p=116|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2p=150|3a1=St. John|3y=2008|3p=95}} He funded the [[Black September Organization]] whose members perpetrated the 1972 [[Munich massacre]] of Israeli athletes in West Germany and had the killed militants' bodies flown to Libya for a hero's funeral.{{sfnm|1a1=Bearman|1y=1986|1p=114|2a1=Blundy|2a2=Lycett|2y=1987|2p=78|3a1=Kawczynski|3y=2011|3p=38|4a1=St. John|4y=2012|4p=178}}

Gaddafi financially supported other militant groups across the world, including the [[Black Panther Party]], the [[Nation of Islam]], the [[Almighty Black P. Stone Nation]], the [[Tupamaros]], the [[19th of April Movement]] and the [[Sandinista National Liberation Front]] in Nicaragua, the [[African National Congress|ANC]] among other [[liberation movements]] in the fight against [[Apartheid]] in South Africa, the [[Provisional Irish Republican Army]], [[ETA (separatist group)|ETA]], [[Action Directe]], the [[Red Brigades]], and the [[Red Army Faction]] in Europe, and the [[Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia|Armenian Secret Army]], the [[Japanese Red Army]], the [[Free Aceh Movement]], and the [[Moro National Liberation Front]] in the [[Philippines]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ap |date=31 December 1987 |title=Five Draw Long Sentences for Terrorism Scheme |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/12/31/us/five-draw-long-sentences-for-terrorism-scheme.html |access-date=2 February 2023 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=11 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081211085951/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE5D71F3CF932A05751C1A961948260 |url-status=live }}</ref> Gaddafi was indiscriminate in the causes which he funded, sometimes switching from supporting one side in a conflict to the other, as in the [[Eritrean War of Independence]].{{sfnm|1a1=Blundy|1a2=Lycett|1y=1987|1pp=78–81, 150, 185|2a1=Kawczynski|2y=2011|2pp=34–35, 40–53|3a1=St. John|3y=2012|3p=151}} Throughout the 1970s these groups received financial support from Libya, which came to be seen as a leader in the [[Third World]]'s struggle against [[colonialism]] and [[neocolonialism]].{{sfnm|1a1=Blundy|1a2=Lycett|1y=1987|1pp=78–81, 150|2a1=Kawczynski|2y=2011|2pp=34–35, 40–53|3a1=St. John|3y=2012|3p=151}} Though many of these groups were labelled "[[terrorism|terrorists]]" by critics of their activities, Gaddafi rejected this characterization, instead considering them to be revolutionaries who were engaged in liberation struggles.{{sfn|Harris|1986|p=55}}